»09/18/2012NEPALTeej festival honouring women divides Nepal between rich and poorby Kalpit Parajuli Because of the economic crisis, only the rich can enjoy the celebration. Women exchange gifts and fast for their husbands' longevity. Local media now report that some women have sold a kidney to get money to buy jewels and the traditional red sari.

Kathmandu
(AsiaNews) - The festival of Teej, which sees wives fast in honour of Shiva and
for their husbands' longevity, is dividing Nepali society. Celebrations began
today across the country, but if high caste women mark the occasion with temple
visits and dances where they can show off their clothes and jewellery, working
class women cannot even get a day off.

In many parts of
the country, religious authorities did not inform the public of the date of the
festivity in order to exclude lower castes. And according to Nepalis media, some
women sold a kidney to buy jewels and the traditional red sari in order to participate
in celebrations.

"In the past few
years, Teej has become a fashionable event," said Hindu culture expert Govinda
Tandon. However, "Only the country's rich and powerful families can take part. By
contrast, most Nepali women live in poverty and cannot even afford a meal day. This
offends Hinduism and divides society."

According to the
tradition, women wearing a red sari meet to exchange food, clothes and jewels a
day before they fast.

"Only some can
respect religious traditions," said Rima Dahal, a Hindu woman who works for a
construction company in Kathmandu. "If I miss a day of work, no one will feed
my children. There are no festivities for me."

She blames a
corrupt ruling class, one that uses festivities to lead a trendy lifestyle
instead of helping the people.

Rekha Thapa, a
famous Nepali actress, also criticised Teej's commercialisation. On TV, she
said that Hinduism has "divided Nepali society between haves and have-nots."

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